Loom for making wire-cloth.



PTENTED DEC. 22,1903.

I. J. NERAGHER. 4LOOM POR .MAKING WIRE CLOTH;

APPLICATION FILED MAB.. 6, 1902.

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PATBNTED DBG. 22, 1903.

I. J. NERAOHER. LOOM FOR MAKING WIRE CLOTH.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 6. 1902.

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INVENTOR WITNESSES 'PATENTBD DEmzz, 1903.

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` I. J. NERACHER. LOOM. FOR MAKING WIR-B CLOTH.

APPLIOATION FILED um. s, 1902.

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WITNESSES V PATENTED DEG. 22, 1903.

l I. J. NERAGHER.

LOOMFOR MAKING WIRE CLOTH.

APPLIOATION FILED HAB. 6.1902.'

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Patented necmber 22, 190e.

PATENT OFFICE.

OF CLEVELAND, OHIO.

LOOM FOR MAKING WIRE-CLOTH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 747,630, dated December 22, 1903.

Application led March 6, 1902.

To @ZZ whom it may concern.-

Beit know-n that I, INoZENs J. NERACHER, of Clevelar1d,Cuyah0ga county,Ohio,have invented a new and useful Loom for Making Wire-Cloth, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, in which- Figure lis a side elevation showing the preferred form of my improved loom. Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the same, partly in section. Fig. 3 is a partial longitudinal section showing the working parts of the loom. Fig. 4 is an interior View on a larger scale, showing the automatic regulator for making different-sized meshes; and Fig. 5is a plan view of the regulator mechanism.

My invention relates to the loomsfor making wire-cloths, and especially to those employed for making wire-cloth of a special heavy quality known as double-crimp, and is designed to provide automatic let-off mechanism for the Warp-Wires and automatic take-up mechanism forthe cloth, these being arranged to adjust themselves automatically to dierent sizes of mesh; to provide means for automatically adjusting the let-off and take-up according to the strength of the blow in driving the shoot-wires into place; to provide an automatic regulator which is adj ustable for all meshes, andl to dispense with the sprocket gear or ratchet wheels now commonly used, and, further, to improve the operation of looms wherein the lay or beater, strikes the cloth a natural blow as distinguished from operating the beater with a crank-shaft.

In the drawings,2 represents the warp-bea or drum, mounted in bearings 3 upon a general framework 4. The warp-wires lead from this beam to and around the breast-roll 5, the cloth thence passing to thetake-up drum. 6. y

The breast-roll 5 is mounted in loose bearings 7 of the frame, and the take-up is likewise mounted loosely in bearings 8 for the shaft 9. A worm-Wheel 10 is secured at one end of the take-up drum, the teeth being engaged by a worm 11, mounted on an inclined shaft 412, which is provided at its other end with a bevel-wheel13,intermeshiugwith a bevel-pinion 14 on the shaft 15. The shaft 15 is provided with a pulley 16, around which and Serial No. 96,884. (No model.)

around a pulley 17 passes a belt 18. The pulley 17 is mounted on a shaft 19,which drives it and the pulley 16, and thereby drives the take-up drum through the worm-gear. The tension of the warp-wires is adjusted by means of an idler-pulley 20, mounted on the bellcrank lever 21 and bearing against thebelt 18. The position of this pulley 2O is adjusted by means of the link 21, pivotally connected with one arm of the bell-crank and having a screw-threaded end engaged by a hand-nut 22. By adjusting this nut the pressure of the pulley against the .belt may be adjusted as desired. When the pulley 2O isnot in contact with the belt, said belt slips on the pulley 16 of the take-up mechanism;

The lay or beater 23 swings from the pivot or shaft 24 and carries the usual reed 25 at its lower end.- The beat-er is intermediately connected by pivotal links 26 with lever-arms 27 at each side of the machine, these arms being secured to a rock-shaft 28. At one side the lever-arm 27 is preferably formed integrally with a rearwardly-projecting arm 29, connected by an Aadjustable link 30 with a cross-bar 31, to which are secured a number of removable 'spiral springs 32, which at their upper ends are secured to pins on a stationary bar 33. .The link 30 is made adjustable by right and left hand thread portions connected by aturnbuckle or by any other desirable adjusting means. end of the shaft 28 I provide a forked lever 34, carrying a roller between the legs of the fork at thepouter. end. This roller is in position to be engaged by acam 36, mounted upon a transverse rotating shaft 37. The shaft 37 is drivenin a counter-clockwise direction, and through its action on the forked lever it draws back the lay, at the same time .extending the springs 32.' When the point of the cam passes the roller 35, the springs `act by contraction to drive the lay forward and strike the blow.

I -will now describe the connections by which the force of the blow and the length of stroke of the lay will automatically act upon the let-olf mechanism to adjust this let-o according to the blow.' A pawl-link 38 is loosely pivoted through either of a series of 'holes 39 to the lay, and the rear or pawl end of this link rests and slides upon the face 40 Near the other IOO of a. slide 41, movable in bearings 42. (See l Figs. 5 and 6.) A jog or shoulder 43 is provided on the slide, the upper face 44 thence extending at a higher level than the face 40. The pawl normally travels on the face 44, but when the beater moves forward with a greater stroke than desired and is carried beyond the cloth-line for which it was set the end of the pawl will drop down over the shoulder onto the face 40 and on the next backward stroke of the lay it will actuate the slide, and a pawl 45, acting upon the ratchet-wheel 46,will turn this wheel and will also turn a cam 48 secured to it, both loosely mounted on studshaft 47. This cam 47 is arranged to actuate a roller 49, pivoted in a long lever 50, keyed to a shaft 51 above the let-off drum. A short arm 52, also secured to the shaft 51, carries one end of a brakestrap 53, which encircles the let-off drum, the other end of this strap being secured to a link 54, loosely surrounding the shaft 51. The upper end of the lever 50 works in a slotted guide 55, secured to the frame, and on this guide is provided a pin 56, on which the pawl 45 rests.

The pawl end of the link 38 is provided with side wings or lugs 57,which are arranged to engage inclined lugs 58 on the rear guide of the slide to lift this end of the pawl-link when the slide moves forward. The slide is intermediately provided with a guide 59 having two wings, to one of which is secured a spiral sping 60, the other end of which is secured to a stationary bracket 61. To cushion the forward stroke of the slide when it is released and drawn forward by the spring, I preferablyprovidea leather buffer 62. (Shown in Fig. 5.)

In order to prevent the cam 48 from passing beyond the position indicated in Fig. 5, I provide a blank portion 63 on the ratchetwheel 46, so situated that this blank portion will be engaged by the pawl and further motion of the cam prevented. When the point of the cam reaches this position, the automatic regulation ceases and the cam is arranged to provide for all ordinary variations in the stroke. If this adjustment by the cam is not sufficient, the braking action on the let-off is increased by means of screw-threaded shafts 64, which act upon the bearing-boxes for the shaft 51. By applying a wrench to the lower squared ends of these shafts the shaft 51 islifted and the tension of the brakeband thus increased.

The harness (indicated at 65) is of the usual type, passing at its upper and lower ends over rock-shafts 66 and 67. The treadles 68 are pivoted at 69 and provided with rollers 70, bearing on cams 71, secured to a rotating shaft 72. These treadles are connected by the usual chain extending over the lower shaft 67in the ordinary manner. The shaft 19 is the main power-shaft. It projects through the frame and carries a friction-clutch member 73,.having aspline connection with it, the clutch member having an outer inclined face arranged to engage a vcontinuously-driven wheel 74, loosely mounted on the shaft and held in place by a two-part collar 75, having an interlocking connection therewith. The collar is held in adjusted position by set-screw 76. The clutch member 73 is provided atits inner end with an inclined face 77, arranged to engage a stationary braking-surface 78 on a ring secured to bearing 79 by a set-screw 80. The clutch 73 is moved longitudinally by means of lever 81, connected by rod 82 with a lever 83, secured to a shaft carrying a. double foot-lever 84. Aspiral spring 85 surrounds the rod 82 and is connected at one end to an adjustable clamp 86 thereon. The other end of the spring is connected to an adjustable stationary hook-bolt 87. The spring acts to throw on the brake and disconnect the driving-wheel whenever the foot-treadle is released, and if through wrong adjustment of the spring its action is insufficient the operator may press on the other side of the treadle, and thus positively throw the clutch member away from the driving-wheel and into engagement with the braking-surface.

The shaft 19 carries a pinion 88, which intermeshes with a toothed wheel 89, mounted on the shaft 37, which actuates the cam 36. At the other end of the shaft 37 it is connected by bevel-gearing 90 with a vertical shaft 91, carried in suitable bearings on the side of the frame and having miter-gear connection 92 with the shaft 72. The cam-shaft 72 is thus continuously rotated and gives the intermittent rocking motion to the trcadles and the harness-shafts.

To hold the ratchet-wheel in the different positions to which it is adjusted by the pawl and to prevent too free a backward movement of the ratchet-wheel under the pressure of the lever 50, I provide a hand-brake 93, having two parts with lugs 94, drawn toward each other with spring-pressure by means of adjustingnuts 95. At the other side the brake is connected to an arm 96, having a loose slot connection with a stationary pin 97 on the frame. When the pawl 45 turns the ratchet-wheel in a counter-clockwise direction, as the slide moves forwardly and draws the pawl away the ratchet-wheel would naturally turn back in a clockwise direction by reason of the vibration of the loom due to the blow of the lay and the pressure of the lever 50, and by regulating the pressure of the brake 93 I can regulate and retard this return movement, so as to maintain the let-olf at substantially the correct tension. The purpose of the loose or slot connection to the pin 97 is merely to permit the brake 93 to center accurately. t

In the operation of the machine the warp wires are wound on the let-o drum and threaded through the harness and the reed and connected to the take-up drum. The shoot-wires are inserted in the usual manner, the lay being thrown forward to deliver the blow after each wire is inserted. By varying IOO IIO

, r /AN the number of springs which act upon the beater or lay and also by adjusting` the link connection to the spring-carrying member I adjust the blow ofthe beater to correspond to the quality of work desired. During the oscillating movements of the beater the pawllink slides back and forth on the face 44 of the slide 41, and if at any stroke the beater moves forwardly of the cloth-line the end of the pawl-link will drop in front of the shoulder 43 and on the next back stroke the pawllink will move the slide rearwardly and through the pawl 45 will turn the ratchetwheel. During this turning the cam will act uponthe lever and lift its end, thereby increasing the tension of the brake-band on the let-off. As thexslide moves forwardthe ratchet-wheel will turn back somewhat under the correcting action 4of the brake, and thus the ratchet-wheel will oscillate and the let-Y off will automatically adjust itself to the stroke of the beater. Con versely,if the beater at any stroke strikes in the rear of the clothline the pa-wl will not actuate the ratchetwheel, sincethe pawl-link will not drop in front ofthe shoulder 43. The vibration dueto the stroke of the lay, together with the weight of the lever 50, Will, however, cause the cam to reverse to a limited extent under the handbrake, thereby decreasing the tension of the brake-band on the let-off. Thus an automatic adjustmentof the let-offin accordance with the stroke of the beater is secured.

The tension of the Warp is changed as desired by adjusting the takeup through the roller 20. By turning the nut 22 the pressure on the belt 18 is changed, and consequently the tension of the warp is tightened. The necessary tension can thus beobtained for any particular mesh or the tension can be varied to compensate for varying amounts of warp on the Warp-beam.

Many variations may be made in the form and arrangement of the mechanism for delivering the blow of the beater, in the connections for automatically adjusting the tension of the let-off, and in the other parts Without departing from my invention.

I claim- 1. A wire-loom having a let-off, a lay capable of a variable stroke, and connections arranged to adjust the let-olf in accordance with the length of the stroke of the lay, as set forth.

2. A wire-loom having alet-off, a lay capable of a variable stroke, a brake therefor, and connections arranged to increase or decrease the brakingaction according to the length of the stroke of the lay, as set forth.

3. A wire-loom having a let-olf, a brake therefor,and connections arranged to increase the. braking action when the lay moves forwardly ofthe cloth-line, as set forth.

4. A wire-loom having a let-o, a brake therefor,and connections arranged to increase lthe braking action when the lay moves forwardly of the cloth-line and to .diminish the braking action when the lay moves to the rear of the cloth-line, as set forth.

5. A wire-loom having a friction let-0H and a friction take-up, a lay capable of a variable stroke,and connections arranged to adj ust the let-off in accordance with the length ofthe stroke of the lay, as set forth.

6. A Wire-loom having a vibrating lay, a friction let-0E, mechanism connected with the lay and arrangedto increase the friction of the let-off, and a device included therein arranged to allow a slacking off of the tension when released by the lay element, as set forth.

7. A wire-loom having afriction let-off, an automatic device arranged to allow slacking of the friction when the lay moves to the rear of the cloth-line, and a brake device for regnlating the slacking action, as set forth.. y

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand.

INOZENS J. NERACHER. Witnesses:

L. M. REDMAN, H. M. OORWIN. 

